Filmmaking

HALLOWEEN SHORT: “THE MAZE”

Via Coolhunting, a documentary short about an annual L.A. Halloween project: While recently exploring the southern coast of the Golden State we ended up in the Los Angeles neighborhood of El Sereno where artist Albert Reyes gave us a behind-the-scenes look at his yearly Halloween project. Since 2004 Reyes has built a Halloween maze in his backyard for a party in celebration of America’s favorite pagan holiday. Over time, the maze has evolved from a blanket tunnel held together with sticks to a full, free-standing structure, guaranteed to spook the drunk, stoned and sober alike. We got a special glimpse […]

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 31, 2011 Filmmaking
KICKSTARTER: JENNIE LIVINGSTON’S “EARTH CAMP ONE”

Filmmaker Jennie Livingston (Paris is Burning) is raising funds for a new documentary feature, Earth Camp One, through Kickstarter. Described as both a “first-person family story” — Livingston began the film after losing four family members in five years — as well as “an essay,” the film deals with death, loss, and what she calls “the very American problem of discomfort with discomfort.” From her Kickstarter page: “To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.” –Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest In the 1970s, I went to a hippie summer camp, […]

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 30, 2011 Filmmaking
HALLOWEEN SHORT: SHADE RUPE’S “T IS FOR TRICK”

Filmmaker Shade Rupe has contributed a short to the “ABC’s of Death” contest, and he has garnered some impressive props from Clive Barker. That was an elegantly shot, sharply edited and strongly conceived and directed four minutes of film-making. Colour me impressed. You managed to imply a whole range of character options for us, from which entirely plausible narrative solutions spilled. Very fine, courageous work from you and your actors. I hit the heart to say I’d been there. I hope it helps and i will certainly make sure my guys do the same. If you like the short, click […]

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 30, 2011 Filmmaking
HALLOWEEN SHORT: LARS VON TRIER’S “OCCUPATIONS”

Here’s the ultimate “don’t talk in the movie theater” short by Lars Von Trier. Occupations – short film by Lars von Trier by vahea

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 30, 2011 Filmmaking
DICTATORS, JENNIFER EGAN AND HILARY SWANK

In Jennifer Egan’s brilliant, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Visit from the Goon Squad, Dolly, a desperate, down-and-out celebrity publicist, takes on the job of rehabilitating the image of a genocidal African dictator. Perhaps it’s a book Hilary Swank should have read. Reports Deadline, Swank has fired members of her team following criticism from human rights organizations for accepting a fee to fly to Chechnya and celebrate the birthday of its president, Ramzan Kadyrov. From an article on the event at The Guardian: “Ramzan Kadyrov is linked to a litany of horrific human rights abuses,” said a statement from Human Rights […]

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 30, 2011 Filmmaking
HALLOWEEN SHORT: “KITCHEN SINK”

Here’s the first of a few short films particularly appropriate for Halloween. It’s a short classic from years ago — Kitchen Sink, the movie that introduced director Alison Maclean (Jesus’s Son.)

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 30, 2011 Filmmaking
Editor Tariq Anwar on the Art of Postproduction

Thursday night EditShare sponsored a seminar with Oscar-nominated film editor Tariq Anwar at the Florence Gould Hall on East 59th Street in Manhattan. Despite rain the evening was well attended by writers, directors, and especially editors, and Anwar’s presentation — basically a low-key Q&A session moderated by Manhattan Edit Workshop’s Josh Apter — was fun and informative. Here are a few thoughts he shared. Anwar got into filmmaking somewhat accidentally, starting by driving a truck then getting work as an assistant director. After doing a great deal of yelling at crews, he decided “the cutting room was the most civilized […]

By Randy Astle on Oct 30, 2011 Editors
Walter Murch on FCPX: “Where is the ‘Pro’ Part of It?”

Here’s editor Walter Murch on his first encounter with Apple’s new Final Cut Pro X, his correspondence with Apple, and the Kremlinology of Cupertino. This was recorded at this past week’s Boston Supermeet. For a detailed report on his appearance, visit Chris Portal’s blog. (Hat tip: Notes on Video.)

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 29, 2011 Filmmaking
KIRSTEN DUNST, JOHN GIORNO IN FINAL R.E.M. VIDEOS

First that Cannes press conference and now the new R.E.M. video — Kirsten Dunst knows how to hold a close-up. After her series of conflicted, painful expressions while Lars Von Trier rambled on about Nazism endeared her to the world press corps, Dunst now appears in the final video of R.E.M., again transfixing without speaking. But what got me really excited was seeing the second version of this song, “We All Go Back to Where We Belong,” which features poet and performance artist John Giorno. I knew John a little bit back when I worked at The Kitchen, and I […]

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 29, 2011 Filmmaking
SAG, AFTRA CALL ON IMDB TO STOP PUBLISHING AGES

A couple of weeks ago on this blog Randy Astle wrote about an unnamed Texas actress’s lawsuit against IMDb for printing her age on her professional iMDB Pro profile. Many scoffed at the suit, wondering how an actress could sue an industry database for publishing accurate information. While they haven’t gone so far as to join the suit, Hollywood’s two unions representing actors have made a public statement supporting its aim. Reports The Guardian: In a joint statement, the Screen Actors’ Guild, Sag, and Aftra, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, said IMDb had a “moral and legal […]

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 29, 2011 Filmmaking

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